Semiconductor integrated circuit devices are manufactured on a thin wafer of semiconductor material. Generally many devices are manufactured on a single wafer. These devices may be tested with electrical probes to verify functionality of the devices prior to singulation and/or packaging of individual devices. After a device is packaged, further tests are performed. Devices which do not receive a conventional device package may be tested in a temporary package or die holder, and later shipped in die form. Devices which are shipped in die form after passing a complete test flow may be termed Known Good Die (KGD). Some electrical tests may be performed in a Burn-In oven to weed out parts that would likely fail within a short period of time after being sold if the Burn-In step was not performed. In addition to Probe and Burn-In, parts may be tested both hot and cold to verify functionality over specified environmental conditions.
A complete test flow will often require that parts move from one piece of test equipment to another. A first piece of test equipment and test fixtures may be utilized for Probe, another for Burn-In, and yet another for packaged part testing after Burn-In. After being tested on a particular piece of test equipment, the parts may be sorted into bins according to the test results. Occasionally a part may be misbinned i.e., placed in an incorrect bin. This may occur as a result of machine malfunction, or human error. A failed part that is incorrectly placed in a passing bin has the potential of completing the test flow without further failures and may then be sold as a fully functional part.